The Jets’ highly-anticipated 2024 season opener is precisely every week away in what quantities to a mulligan for Aaron Rodgers.
After all, Rodgers’ 2023 season, his first with the Jets, ended simply 4 performs into the opener when his left Achilles gave out. That rupture successfully severed any hopes the Jets had of ending a 13-year drought with out a playoff berth.
Now, because the 49ers and their top-tier protection await Rodgers and his fellow Jets starters having not performed a down within the three preseason video games, questions linger:
What does Rodgers have left?
Does he nonetheless have the shape in him that gained him two NFL MVP honors and a Tremendous Bowl?
Or is he a 40-year-old star whose abilities have diminished?
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There’s no participant on the Jets roster extra certified to reply these questions than receiver Allen Lazard, who was signed upfront of the acquisition of Rodgers after having performed his first 5 NFL seasons with him in Inexperienced Bay.
Earlier than the Jets took a Labor Day weekend break from apply, I requested Lazard to evaluate Rodgers’ kind now in comparison with what it was in his finest years in Inexperienced Bay.
“He’s someplace in between wonderful and glorious,” Lazard informed The Submit. “Possibly magnificent.”
So, in your eyes, you don’t assume he’s misplaced something?
“He’s nearly as good as he’s ever been, actually,” Lazard mentioned. “I don’t need to hype him up an excessive amount of or something, however … ”
Lazard, after all, is biased. However nonetheless: no Jets participant has a greater, extra distinctive perspective of Rodgers’ kind then and now than Lazard, who, like Rodgers, can also be attempting to return to his Inexperienced Bay kind.
There was no scarcity of candidates who certified for probably the most scorn from pissed off Jets followers in 2023. The three males who manned the quarterback place after Rodgers went down for the season have been on the high of that record.
Lazard wasn’t far behind Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle, although.
The 28-year-old receiver whom the Jets signed to a 4 yr, $44 million with $22 million assured was one of many group’s most stark disappointments in 2023.
In equity, he was a receiver with out a competent NFL quarterback, and a receiver who’d been spoiled by having performed his complete profession with one of many biggest of all time to play the place.
Nonetheless, although, Lazard’s 2023 season stung and it’s left him extremely motivated to “reestablish my worth to this group.”
He entered final season having caught 60 passes for 788 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2022. That adopted his 2021 season when he had 40 catches for 513 yards and eight touchdowns.
Lazard’s numbers in 2023 — 23 catches for 311 yards and one TD — hardly matched the contract he signed. And he heard about it from Jets followers.
“It was a tough yr,” Lazard mentioned. “It was robust simply from the truth that up till final yr I labored my entire profession to get that stability and safety. I got here to a brand new metropolis with new adventures, sort of feeling like I’m lastly acquired to this test in my life … after which clearly the season is what the season was.”
Lazard wasn’t deaf to the unfavorable chatter in 2023. He was nicely conscious of the derisive phrases many Jets followers had for his lack of manufacturing.
However you by no means as soon as heard Lazard whine about it. He stored his head down and quietly went about his enterprise. He remained accountable.
“That’s a part of this profession once we signed up for the whole lot, and in truth I wouldn’t need another approach,’’ Lazard mentioned. “I take advantage of all that as motivation, take all that stuff from final yr to show into motivation and focus and to get higher at my craft and be a greater teammate.’’
It’s human nature for even probably the most established participant, when his manufacturing drops and out of doors criticism raises, to doubt himself. Lazard conceded to having these unsettled emotions, questioning if he was nonetheless the participant he was earlier than he got here to the Jets.
“These little voices in your head get a little bit bit louder in these robust instances,’’ he mentioned. “However that doesn’t imply which you could’t nonetheless play and persevere by the robust instances. Final yr I knew wasn’t going to be my final yr of enjoying soccer.’’
Lazard rebounded with a powerful coaching camp this summer season. Now he desires to take that to the true video games.
“I’m appreciative of camp and the success and the expansion that I used to be in a position to make and simply sort of reestablish my worth to this group,’’ he mentioned. “However on the finish of the day, nothing issues till Sunday.’’
On this case, Monday.
“That’s actually what you get judged for and graded on and ridiculed for, proper?’’ he mentioned. “So, that [training camp] checkpoint doesn’t imply that I’m anyplace close to the place I must go.’’
